Competitions can get serious real fast. The fiercest competitors are there to win... and sometimes that requires laser focus.
But... sometimes that means just having an awesome time.
And that's why we created the Best Time Award, a prize built for the competitors who bring true joy to the competitions in which they participate.
The Best Time Award doesn't go to whoever lands the highest score or the cleanest run. It goes to the competitor who brought the most energy, had the most fun doing it, and lifted everyone else up in the process. Sometimes that's the person throwing down a trick nobody expected. Sometimes it's the rider hyping up the crowd between runs.
Either way, it's a reminder of why people show up to these events in the first place: to have a good time.
Where the Nixon Best Time Award Came From
The Best Time Award has roots in an earlier Nixon tradition called the WTA Award, short for Winner Take All. But the concept really took shape during a brainstorming session between the Nixon team, Pat Bridges and the team at SLUSH Snowboarding Magazine, ahead of the inaugural World Quarters event at Mammoth Mountain.
If you haven't heard of World Quarters, it's about as pure as snowboarding contests get. Organizers build a single quarterpipe that towers over 25 feet tall, then let riders go for it with essentially no restrictions. It's chaotic, it's fun, and it's exactly the kind of event where an award for personality and stoke makes perfect sense.
After watching how well the Best Time Award landed at that first World Quarters event, we decided it deserved a bigger stage. The award has since made its way into other surf, skate, and snowboard competitions that we support, becoming a fan favorite alongside the traditional podium finishes.
The Watch: A Trophy You Can Actually Wear
Every Best Time Award winner walks away with a custom engraved, all gold Nixon watch. It's a trophy in the truest sense, but instead of collecting dust on a shelf, it's something the winner can strap on and wear immediately.
There's something fitting about that. The award celebrates people who bring energy and personality to a contest, and the prize itself makes a statement wherever they go next.
Not making the podium doesn't mean you go home empty-handed. If you're the one who made the event memorable, you're leaving with hardware too, just in a different form.
Notable Winners Who Defined the Award
Plenty of riders and skaters have taken home the Best Time Award over the years, but few embody it better than skateboarder Greyson Fletcher. He's won it multiple times at the Rockstar Energy Open, and it's not hard to see why. Greyson skates for the crowd, brings nonstop hype, and does things his own way. He's the kind of competitor who leaves people talking about his run long after the event wraps up, which is exactly the spirit the Best Time Award was built to recognize.
Other winners have carved out their own memorable moments.
Snowboarder Dillon Henricksen turned heads at the World Quarters event with runs that seemed to defy the 25-foot wall he was riding.
Young skateboarder Wyatt Hammond earned his Best Time Award by going head to head with competitors more than twice his age, and twice his height, and holding his own with a confidence that impressed everyone watching.
Why the Best Time Award Matters
Every Best Time Award winner has a different story, and that's really the point.
There's no formula for who takes it home or what they do to earn it. Sometimes it's a veteran who's been doing this for years and knows exactly how to work a crowd. Sometimes it's a kid barely old enough to drive who shows up and skates like he owns the place.
The unpredictability is part of what makes the award so beloved by fans and athletes alike.
At its core, the Nixon Best Time Award is our way of celebrating what these events are really about. Scores and podiums matter, but so does the energy that makes a contest worth watching in the first place. The riders and skaters who bring that energy, who remind everyone why they fell in love with the sport, deserve recognition too.
That's the whole idea behind putting a gold watch on their wrist at the end of the day.
So next time you're watching a surf, skate, or snowboard event backed by Nixon, keep an eye out for who's having the most fun out there. There's a good chance that person is walking away with more than just bragging rights. They might just be the next name added to the growing list of Best Time Award winners, standing right alongside legends like Greyson Fletcher.
Take a look back at a few of the recent Nixon Best Time Award winners at our blog:
